Our goal is fundamental change:

We want a government that's small enough to listen, big enough to tackle real problems, smart enough to spend our money wisely, and honest enough to be held accountable for results. We need your help.

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Our History

Origins and Support

Over the last generation, our systems of government have failed at dealing with our state’s challenges. We aren’t getting the results we need from public programs; lawmakers are mired in gridlock; and budgets are out of balance even during good times. There is growing concern that this dysfunction is not only impacting public programs, but the economy and the confidence of entrepreneurs to do business here.

California Forward was created by combining projects from California Common Cause, Center for Governmental Studies, New California Network, and The Commonwealth Club of California's Voices of Reform Project. The organization has established itself as a trusted, influential, and bipartisan public interest effort, with an unwavering commitment to making government work better.

Our early steps toward reform include:

Stabilizing the fiscal mess through budget reform.

Changing political incentives with redistricting and the top two primary.

Restructuring state and local government to drive innovation and results.